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On Wednesday afternoon just before the NBA Draft, Jarace Walker was being fitted for the last of four suits he’d wear before, during and after the event. The next time he wore this particular garment, he’d be a professional basketball player.
As a tailor pinned back white fabric and took additional measurements, Walker recounted some of the steps he’d toward turning pro since ending his March Madness run with the University of Houston. He’d hired agency WME to handle his business concerns while he focused on the tournament, Draft combine and tryouts. He kept his mind on basketball as agents inked name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with LG and Powerade that helped give him roughly $200,000 in earnings, according to college sports database and digital media company On3.
“Hooping is what’s bringing me all these opportunities, so I’ve just got to stay solid with that, stay consistent and honestly just stay humble through it all,” Walker said. “I feel like it’s kind of easy to get thrown off path, so I’m just staying humble, staying hungry, staying in the gym, working on my game and just let everything else take care of itself.”
In the middle of that preparation, Walker picked up another endorsement when he was named to Philips Norelco’s second-annual Team OneBlade. Attaching its brand to future NBA rookies using its product for their draft-night shave, Philips Norelco teamed Walker with Baylor’s Keyonte George and Kansas’ Gradey Dick.
Leaving Kansas after his freshman year, Dick also signed with WME before inking a NIL deal with Continental Tire. Before the end of his collegiate career, Dick was already starring in ads for Tommy’s Express Car Wash and spots for Kansas Ford dealer Long McArthur “with this cool Mustang.”
While On3 put the value of Dick’s NIL deals at close to $400,000, he considered the experience invaluable as his career advances into the far more lucrative sponsorship opportunities of the NBA.
“It’s definitely prepared me and made me mature in a way,” Dick said. “Going through college, it’s a whole different feel with NIL. Doing that at this age is going to really help propel me into the real world.”
They’ve got next
According to sports analytics platform SponsorUnited, NIL deals for men’s college basketball more than doubled between 2021 and 2022. Only football and women’s college basketball saw greater growth during that time. Thanks to school NIL collectives that help funnel money toward football and men’s basketball programs, men’s basketball receives the second most NIL deals of any college sport despite trailing football, track and field and women’s basketball, softball and gymnastics for the most deals per athlete.
The stakes rise considerably in the NBA. Sponsorship revenue for NBA teams hit $1.4 billion in the 2022-2023 season, a $100 million increase from the season before. According to SponsorUnited, the NBA added 2,430 new brand deals during the season. However, that 3.5% increase in volume is overshadowed by the 10.5% jump in spending across those deals.